


Sparky

by KoboldKing



Category: Original Work
Genre: Fantasy, Gen, Prompt Fic, Veterinary Clinic, dragon - Freeform, r/writingprompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-29 09:11:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16741138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KoboldKing/pseuds/KoboldKing
Summary: A new pet can be tricky to care for. Especially if it's a dragon.





	Sparky

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a post on r/WritingPrompts.

"First time owning a dragon?" the veterinarian asked.

I nodded nervously, holding the squirming mass of coils and green scales with both hands. Sparky was a feisty little thing, and was curious to explore the whole vet's office whether or not I was inclined to allow it. He'd also gotten _significantly_ harder to hold like this now that he'd had his growth spurt.

"Is it that obvious?" I said, giving another awkward chuckle. Sparky made a sudden lunge for freedom which I only barely managed to prevent.

"Oh, I've seen a few cases," the veterinarian replied, giving me a knowing smile. "You can go ahead and put him down, Mr. Moldorf the Brown. There's nothing in here that's breakable or likely to exasperate his condition."

I breathed a deep sigh of relief as I let Sparky jump physically out of my arms, landing on the floor on all four paws and wandering about with his tail wagging. He was now equivalent to a mid-sized dog, and the plumes of smoke that came constantly from his nostrils were a deeper black than before. I stretched my arms behind my head, relieved to no longer be holding that struggling burden.

"Now... let's try to put together exactly what caused the growth spurt," the vet said, pulling out a clipboard. He gestured to a sturdy metal chair in the corner of the office. "What does his hoard look like?"

"That's just it," I said, taking the offered seat. "When we adopted him we took all the standard precautions. I got him one of those dragon palaces from FamiliarSmart, and we bought a whole chest of those fake plastic doubloons. He _loved_ those. We always found him rolling around on them."

"Good so far," the vet nodded. "He was the appropriate size at the time I imagine?"

"Yeah. Our cat would even bully him a little. Then we woke up one morning and he was like this!"

Sparky had stood up on his hind legs, sharpening his claws on the office door. They left deep and troubling marks at chest height.

"It sounds like a rapid transition," the vet observed. "Oh, don't worry about the door. We have it re-transmuted Friday--you should see what a harpy who doesn't want to take her shots can do."

He chuckled amiably, squinting at Sparky for a moment before making a clicking sound with his tongue. Sparky came bounding over, wings flapping up and down and his forked tongue rolling out of his mouth. I had to admit he was as cute as ever.

"Rapid transitions don't happen for no reason," the vet went on, scratching Sparky behind the horns. The dragon let out an excited couple of sparks, which crackled harmlessly against the vet's coat. "Did any valuables turn up missing around the night of his growth spurt?"

"Absolutely not." I scratched my beard, thinking back. "We'd have noticed--we made sure we didn't have any jewelry out at all when we first set him loose in the house. And nothing he pulled into his hoard had _any_ kind of monetary value."

"Ah--so he had hoard items that _weren't_ part of the set you bought at FamiliarSmart?"

The vet was looking at me with a sudden broad smile, as though he'd just figured something out. I frowned.

"Er... a few pieces of trash he'd found around the house," I said slowly. "Bottle caps and the like... stuff we gave him 'cause it made him happy."

Something like triumph flashed in the vet's eyes. "Right. That's a common rookie mistake--I wouldn't feel bad. Mr. Moldorf the Brown, do you know _why_ gold and jewels make dragons shoot up like they do?"

"I... haven't really read much on it, sorry." I wrinkled my forehead, thinking back to the pet tomes I'd read. "They're attracted to value. That's what all the tomes say. Before you ask, no paper money has turned up missing either."

The vet shook his head. "No, you're thinking narrowly. Am I right in saying you gave him soda bottle caps--maybe from a brand advertising a sweepstakes?"

"...er... possibly. I've been trying to drink more water instead but every now and then I break at the convenience market and-"

"That's between you and your _real_ physician," the vet interrupted. "But I take that as a yes?"

"...yes," I admitted sheepishly. "I think it was advertising a free flying carpet  
or something if you had the right numbers on the cap. I didn't check--I never win that sort of thing."

"Good news, then," the vet said, still pouring affection over Sparky. "I think you've probably won a flying carpet, if you can get the cap away from this little fella."

"Huh? I don't understand how this could..."

The vet met my eyes with an understanding smile. "There's a bit of a misconception you'll read in beginning pet owner tomes. You see, gold and jewels... they only make dragons grow because of the way _we_  function, not them. In prehistoric days dragons are known to have hoarded seashells because that's what early humans used to trade. Nowadays..."

"But, we don't use bottle caps to trade. They're not money."

"They don't have to be money," he explained. "They just have to have _value_. They have to be exchangeable for something we _do_ believe to have value; that's what dragons are attracted to. And the value of the items they possess--the potential for what they could be exchanged for--is what causes them to grow, not any intrinsic property of currency."

I took a long moment to process this, before sighing deeply. "Damn. Here I thought I'd done my research."

"It's not a common thing to worry about," the vet laughed. "Those bottle cap sweepstakes are a one-in-a-million scam. But it _does_ come up from time to time. Fortunately, that makes it an easy fix. Just confiscate the bottle caps. Deprived of whichever one of them is supplying value and he'll shrink back down to normal."

"He... doesn't like us touching his stuff," I said, nervous again. "He sparks at us."

"Well, there's nothing _unhealthy_ about the size he's at now. If you're content with a larger dragon it's quite alright to let him have his hoard, just monitoring what else he possesses very carefully. You will of course be turning down a free flying carpet, but it's your trade to make."

I took a long look at Sparky, who was now gazing up at me with big wide eyes and that derpy rolling tongue of his. I had to admit... he did look more content than he had in a while. And he was just as cute as ever.

"I'll talk it over with the missus," I said finally, "Thanks, doc."

"That's what I'm here for. You can file the bill with the elf at front desk."

Soon I was wrestling Sparky back into the car, where he sat up happily in the seat next to mine with his head poking out the window. He really _was_ happy with his new size, and of course the car rides that apparently were going to come with it.

My wife's even more a bleeding heart than I am, and I once spent an hour untangling a pixie from a wire fence.

...I think Big Sparky is here to stay.


End file.
